{"id":841,"date":"2008-06-19T23:56:39","date_gmt":"2008-06-19T14:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-06-19\/841"},"modified":"2008-06-19T23:56:39","modified_gmt":"2008-06-19T14:56:39","slug":"fushimi-inari-shrine-generations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2008-06-19\/841","title":{"rendered":"Fushimi Inari Shrine: Generations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>350 sec, f<\/span>\/2, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nLayer After Layer after Layer<\/span>\nof mini sub-shrines\nat Kyoto's Fushimi Inari Shrine\n<\/div>\n\n

In my running set of posts about my visit to the Fushimi Inari\nShrine<\/a> in south-east Kyoto, I showed<\/span> the paths lined with thousands of\ngates<\/a> that the shrine is famous for, but I ended<\/span> the most recent\ninstallment – Fushimi\nInari Shrine: Foxes, Treasure, and More<\/a> with the teaser that there was\nso much more than just the gates.<\/p>\n\n

We didn't have a map, so we took what turned out to be a side<\/span> path that\nlater looped back to the main path....<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>90 sec, f<\/span>\/4, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nAnthony on a Side<\/span> Path<\/span>\nwith his two “walking” sticks, that ended up being\nmore for poking things<\/a> than anything else\n<\/div>\n\n

It was great luck to take this side path, because in doing so we\ndiscovered a wonderful<\/span> visual treasure: an area jam packed with a mishmash<\/span>\nof a bazillion<\/span> “sub shrines”.<\/p>\n\n

As I\nspeculated<\/span><\/a> in my first post, it seems that each of these sub-shrines\nrepresents an Inari Shrine elsewhere in Japan, providing a physical<\/span>\npresence for the real shrine here at the head Inari shrine. (“Inari”\nshrines being dedicated to business success, material wealth, and foxes,\namong other things.)<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 31 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>250 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nMishmash of Old Sub-Shrines<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

This small area was just packed<\/i> with history. You could<\/span> see\ngeneration after generation after generation of additions as it was\nexpanded over time. It's all nestled<\/span> in the middle of the mountains, so\nexpansion often involved constructing stairs and carving out a flat<\/span>\nterrace.<\/p>\n\n

Some of it looked as if it had been completed yesterday – very\nmodern, with proper drainage and smooth, polished cut stone – but\nmore often than not it looked to be hundreds of years old. The photo<\/span> above\nshows some very<\/i> weathered stones.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 17 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nRelatively Modern Area<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nEverywhere, Foxes<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

It's an incredibly visually-rich area. Anthony ran around and explored\nas I tried<\/span> to see what I could<\/span> capture photographically, but his attention\nspan matches his age (five years old), so I didn't<\/span> have much time.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/3.5, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nGate of Stone<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

In looking over the photos when I got<\/span> home, I was struck<\/span> by how often\nthe sense of scale was totally lost in the photo. For example, the gate in\nthe photo above is about a foot<\/span> or so tall, with the center plaque thing\nbeing about the size of a deck<\/span> of cards. (You can also see it in the center\nof the “Relatively Modern Area” photo above.)<\/p>\n\n

On the other hand, the gate in the center of this next photo is huge, with life-sized\nhorses flanking it...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>125 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nLarge Sub-Shrine<\/span>\nwith horses, no less\n<\/div>\n\n

At least I think<\/i> the horses were life sized... they really look\nlike toys in the photo, so I'm not 100% sure.<\/p>\n\n

Near the entrance to the area was a large<\/span> map showing the location of sub shrines by number...<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/6.3, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nSub-Shrine Locator Map<\/span>\nshowing a sense of clarity and order that is wholly obscured by reality\n<\/div>\n\n

The map shows no indication of the visual chaos that envelops the site. The map is<\/span> boring. The site is<\/span> amazing.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 35 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>160 sec, f<\/span>\/4.5, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nNot Boring<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>500 sec, f<\/span>\/1.6, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nNope, Not Boring<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>90 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nSub-Shrine Piled With “Offering Gates”<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 85mm f\/1.4 — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>200 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 400 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nLotsa' Foxes<\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Of course, this is Japan, so any area of beauty or interest must<\/i> be marred with lots of wires, utility poles, etc. It's the law<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n

<\/a>\nNikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f\/2.8 @ 55 mm — 1<\/sup>\/<\/big>320 sec, f<\/span>\/2.8, ISO 500 —\nmap & image data<\/a> — nearby photos<\/a><\/span><\/span>\nPar For the Course<\/span>\nsigh\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In my running set of posts about my visit to the Fushimi Inari Shrine in south-east Kyoto, I showed the paths lined with thousands of gates that the shrine is famous for, but I ended the most recent installment – Fushimi Inari Shrine: Foxes, Treasure, and More with the teaser that there was so much more than just the gates.<\/p>

We didn't have a map, so we took what turned out to be a side path that later looped back to the main path....<\/p>

It was great luck to take this side path, because in doing so we discovered a [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/841\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}